Man City 115-charges verdict has finally arrived - now lawmakers must decide sanctions that could change English football forever

We have, of course, yet to learn what sanctions the Premier League, headed up by chief executive Richard Masters, will impose on Manchester City, who are set to appeal the independent commission's ruling. Indeed, some sceptical supporters of rival clubs suspect that the Etihad outfit will escape with a fine and an inconsequential points deduction. However, that's inconceivable according to legal experts familiar with the case. The sport has never seen a financial scandal of this magnitude. The severity of the charges are unprecedented. The punishment should be too.

Remember, Everton (six-point deduction) and Nottingham Forest (four) were only guilty of minor breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations. Chelsea, meanwhile, were only (controversially) fined for charges relating to illegal payments to agents and third parties but the Blues essentially reported themselves to the Premier League, as the breaches in question related not to the current owners but the Roman Abramovich administration. The Clearlake consortium, thus, co-operated fully with the investigation every step of the way. City did not. And they maintained their complete innocence throughout the entire process - and still do - making leniency unlikely.

As a result, there is now a distinct possibility that City will be hit with such a heavy points deduction that it would make relegation probable rather than possible.

Whether titles would be revoked remains unclear at this stage. There's certainly a strong case to be made that all of City's results between 2009 and 2018 (the subject of the investigation) should be declared null and void.

However, it could also be argued that nothing that's happened in the last eight years would have been possible without the financial fraud that laid the costly foundations for City's emergence as the dominant force in English football - and eventual 2023 treble triumph.

Former City manager Pep Guardiola previously railed against the idea that the club should be stripped of their trophies in the event of a guilty verdict.

"Come on! Those moments belong to [City], regardless of the sentence," the Catalan argued back in 2023, when the charges were first filed. "Think about what we’ve done... that goal from Sergio Aguero [against QPR in 2012]; nobody can remove that. I don’t know, are we responsible for Steven Gerrard slipping at Anfield?"

They obviously weren't. But they were allegedly responsible for financial fraud that put Manuel Pellegrini’s City in a position to take advantage of that slip. Furthermore, the magical moments Guardiola referred to arguably only belonged to City because they were stolen from someone else.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has already pointed out that the memories can't really be taken away. The medals and trophies can, though, and it's telling that Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side were pipped to two titles by Guardiola's City, in 2018-19 and 2021-22, previously stated that if City were found guilty, he would get the beers in and host a parade in his own back garden for his former players.

Of even greater concern to City, though, are the potential legal and financial ramifications of being found guilty of what Arsene Wenger memorably referred to as "financial doping".

Manchester United, who have thrice finished second to City during the past 18 years, are already reportedly assessing the economic impact of City's breaches on their own earnings, and it would be a surprise if Liverpool (also three-time runners-up) and Arsenal (two 'lost' titles) are not doing likewise.

It doesn't end there, though, as City also repeatedly denied other clubs top-four finishes that would have secured qualification for the Champions League - and the lucrative prize money that comes with it. The possible cost of compensation is impossible to calculate at this early stage - just like the potentially irreparable damage done to the Premier League's integrity, because, if the guilty verdict sticks, the biggest case of fraud in football history threatens to expose the past 18 years of the Premier League as a lie.

Here's what we already know for sure, though: City's reputation is in ruins. Their memories and titles have not yet been erased, and maybe they never will be. At the very least, though, every accolade now has an asterisk beside it and, in the eyes of most neutral observers, every triumph has been rendered utterly meaningless. Like Florence Griffith Joyner's sprint records. Or Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France wins.

And why? Because, for all their continued protestations, City have, unlike 'The Damned United', been found to have won all their medals by cheating.